Whats the biggest challenge facing the special events industry right now?
I think like any other industry there’s a lot of competition for the right kinds of ideas and event sponsorship. Sponsorship is a burgeoning growth industry-rarely do you have an event not sponsored by somebody. The competition for sponsorship dollars is a huge challenge, because you have to provide a unique platform in which to present a sponsor’s name. For us, we’re not competing for customers or eyeballs with our events, because we do them in a way and in a scale that we don’t have direct competition, but finding the right partners is the challenge. Is it harder to justify spending money on events in this economy? On the contrary I believe these events make us unique as a company. One thing that sets Macy’s apart is that we offer this enhancement outside of the store venue. Our annual events are not about getting people to come into the store, but they are a benefit to American culture. In a funny way, this is an important time for us to make them bigger and better than ever. How is
